Found an iguana, need help ! FAST

Today i found an iguana in a backyard. I plan to keep it only t'ill i found a better home. The ig is about 2 feet, with some shed still clinging to his head. I put it in a 4x1 enclosure with a 100w basking light, paper towel as a substrate. What to feed it ? Now i have green beans,apple,brocoli,blueberry, banana and iceberg lettuce and mealworms. Water bowl ?

feed it romaine lettuce no iceberg lettuce for sure strawberries squash kale fresh green beans no citrus no iceberg lettuce
yes use water bowl you need a uv bulb
watermelon too

I'm sure a search on google for "iguana care" will yield one or two results....

Be careful with any web search for Iguana care sheets. You are sure to come across some care sheets that are notorious as being full of misinformation about Green Iguana care. You have already received some of what I consider to be less than optimal, albeit controversial, information about diet right here in this thread regarding feeding of kale to a green iguana.

In my opinion, Kale should not be a diet mainstay or even a large part of the diet, but is acceptable in small amounts in the diet. Kale is reportedly akin to spinach in that it contains oxalic acid and can interfere with absorption of calcium a necessary mineral in iguana nutrition. Sure Kale also contains calcium but the OA interferes with its absorption making kale a poor choice in my opinion. Like spinach, kale should be fed only as part of a vegetable diet high in leafy green vegetables, and even then only in small amounts. It is also my understanding that fruit should comprise a small portion of a Green Iguana's diet - say about 5 to 10 percent so be careful not to overfeed fruits to it. As to good greens to feed to a green Iguana, my opinion is that you would be better with: clean pesticide and weed killer free Dandelion Greens, Turnip Greens, Mustard Greens, Maple Tree Leaves (regular maple trees such as sugar maple, not Japanese Maple), Parsley, Escarole, Red Leaf Lettuce, Green Leaf Lettuce for up to 50 percent of the diet, to be followed by other vegetables about 40% such as green beans, shredded carrots, chopped squash, corn (kernels), followed by fruits (10%) such as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, chopped apple.


I am not looking to argue with anyone here, just to discuss the issues while trying to point out that you will get lots of information and opinions about the proper diet for a green iguana - much of which will be in disagreement with what you already may have found. What I suggest is you go with the care as suggested by reputable breeders, or zoological establishments. While they may not all agree on every aspect either, I think you will find they have lots more experience which they express in their care sheets than many others who post care sheets on the web, and you will likely learn they are more likely to have the better information.

I am of course assuming, as others apparently have, that you mean you found a Green Iguana and not something like a Desert Iguana or Rhinoceros Iguana. If you are not very familiar with Iguanas then also make sure you did not find a Water Dragon, many of which resemble iguanas. Make sure of what you have before you try to figure out how to care for it.

All the best, and good luck,

Glenn B

Thx all for your help,

First , to Glenn, i'm positive i have a green iguana. I have five years exp in herps. I owned, water dragon, anole,gecko, collared and nerodia(snake). I will not keep this iguana because i,m not well prepared to care for such a big lizard. I would love to keep it but i just cant.

Mark and Aimee, i DO search for care sheet and all, i was looking for some advice for temprary housing from exp owner of iguana.

Here it's late friday night, the iguana is in my home for about 4 hours, he spend most of the evening basking. When i got him he was pretty lethargic. I guess that he was outside for a day or two. Here the night can be pretty cold. Anyway after heating himself up he became very more active and he eat a mix of apple,carrot and iceberg lettuce. I know the lettuce isnt that great but that's what i had. I sprinkle that mix with some vitamins and calcium.

In a day or two i will bring it to some people who will take good care of it. I'm pretty glad to have made that rescue

Iguana Care.....including food.
This is a good site to check on what to and what not to feed your temporary iguana.

This is also a good site,Iguana Iguana newsletter

Check the links on the right and it will help you with what you need if you need more info.

Mizar66,

What ever became of that Iguana. Sounded like you had it on its way to recovery, did you ever find someone to take it off of your hands, or are you now the proud owner of an iggy?

All the best,
GB

The first few week was a bit tough, a lot of adaptation to make. As time pass we had become very attached to him and we finally decided to keep him as we find somebody who want to take him,lol. Now it's going great, i think that he tame us, not the other way around ! When he want to get out, he smply goes to his perch, i open the door and he jump right on my shoulder ! The first time was a bit scary as i wasnt prepared for a landing igg.


Mizar66

Good luck, sounds like it fits right in n

I am glad you decided to keep him . There are so many out there in need of homes . I wasn't really ready for a big lizard either when we got ours but I did alot of research and built him a home that is 6 foot tall , 3 x3 foot wide . I know when he gets bigger I will have to build a wider cage for him but right now he is only about 20 inches . He is my buddy and has so much personality . I didn't think they would but they do ........ Good luck with your new friend !